Sounders tackle long distance shot in CONCACAF

Do the Sounders still have a chance at advancing in the CONCACAF Champions League?

Math says yes, logic says no.

Seattle is 0-4-0 in CONCACAF Group C play. It’s the only club without a point in the tournament. The Sounders will try to change that Wednesday night when they face C.D. Marathon at 7 p.m. at Qwest Field (Fox Soccer Channel; 97.3 KIRO-FM).

Marathon and Saprissa each have six points. Monterrey has 12. The Sounders need to win their final two tournament matches (they play Saprissa on Oct. 19 in keeping with the poor scheduling tradition) in order to have a chance. From there, they need a lot of help. Political attack ads are more likely to cease than the Sounders moving on from this current position. Though there is a slight chance.

A victory, together with a Monterrey win over Saprissa on Tuesday, would keep alive hopes of reaching the tournament’s knockout stage next spring.

“We have just been disappointed because we have played four games and we have had to play three away and every away game we felt we were there to win the game,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. “A red card, a 5-minute meltdown, giving away a questionable penalty kick in Honduras, so our luck hasn’t broken for us there. But our luck stayed with us in league play. You make your own luck by continuing to push and battle and we have done that and I think that’s why we have gotten some good fortune in league.”

Despite the sliver of hope, the Sounders are likely to use another reserve-dominated lineup. The recent pickup in MLS play coupled with crucial MLS matches on the horizon is great incentive to limit the roster in CONCACAF play.

Marathon won the first match 2-1 after Tyrone Marshall was called for a curious foul in the box which led a to Nicoloas Cardoza conversion from the spot. That was more than a month ago. Since, the Sounders’ circumstances within the tournament have changed dramatically.

“They say they play four in the back but they play more like three in the back and they bomb their right back forward all the time,” Schmid said. “We haven’t overly thought that one because we felt there are a lot of spaces for us to attack wide. We didn’t have (Sanna) Nyassi in the game down there. We thought that hurt us a little bit. So having somebody who is out there who can play on the right and get after them on the right.

“That was also a game where Roger Levesque made a lot of runs forward, got the goal but also had some good chances. … We think whoever we are going to put in there is going to be able to deal with it tactically. We just got to make sure we keep certain guys in check from them and take care of our business.”